


nobody won the battle that day.

by CrayolaColor



Category: Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Extreme angst, basically a combination of several bad end aus, completely!, everything's fine!, multiple character deaths, noone here is okay in any way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-04 20:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18819916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrayolaColor/pseuds/CrayolaColor
Summary: In an alternate universe, Varian gets the drill to succeed in breaking the rocks that had encased his father. But things don't go nearly as well as he had hoped, and the war comes to a tragic end for everyone involved.





	nobody won the battle that day.

Varian had grown more and more frustrated when the drill refused to work. He didn't understand it. Why wasn't it working!? And then and there, he almost gave up. But a new resolve came over him, anger coursing through him, and forced the drill to keep going.   
  
He had long since blocked out the protests of the others around them. He didn't care what they were saying, he just had to free his father. It didn't matter what it took, he was going to do it. And suddenly, he thought it was working.   
  
The yellow glow from the princess's hair traveled into the rock, finally, and Varian's frustration and anger was replaced with hope. The entire room was engulfed in bright yellow light. The boy winced, looking away briefly.    
  
But hearing a crack, he forced himself to look back at the rock that had encased his father. It was cracking in the places where the yellow glow emitted from it. Elated as he saw that it was working, Varian made an attempt to push the drill even further.    
  
The light grew brighter, and without much warning at all, the amber  _ exploded.  _ Varian screamed as he took the brunt of the impact, being catapulted against the wall behind him hard enough to knock the breath out of him, and pelted by shrapnel from the rock.    
  
The bright light faded away, leaving the room silent and dark. Varian felt like the world was spinning, and he started to feel a bit sick as he became aware of the metallic smell of blood in the air.    
  
Suddenly he realized things weren't so silent, as he began to register the world around him again. Parts of the walls and roof were caving in, damaged severely by the explosion. He heard muffled screaming and crying, that sounded like it was far away, but it really wasn't far away at all.    
  
His vision was blurred, but he vaguely made out the figures of what he assumed to be Eugene and Cassandra as they came to the aid of the royals, none of which appeared to be uninjured, and the princess was ominously still.    
  
Varian didn't have time to dwell on that, however, as he rapidly looked around for his father. The amber had exploded, so surely he had been freed? Then, he spotted him, laying on the floor amongst bits of the exploded rock.    
  
"Dad..!" Despite being badly injured, Varian scrambled to his feet and ran as best as he could in the direction of his father, tripping over debris several times along the way. By the time he got there he was exhausted and wracked with pain, causing him to collapse to his knees.   
  
"D..Dad?" Varian repeated, his voice starting to shake a bit.    
  
He got no response.   
  
"No, no.. Please.. Dad!?" Starting to panic, Varian tried once more to call out to his father, but still got no response.   
  
He felt something shatter within him as it started to dawn on him that his father was  _ dead _ . Really and truly gone. He had gone through so many lengths to bring his father back, putting others and himself through so much. Even ultimately killing the princess.   
  
And it had all been for nothing.    
  
There was no coming back from this. Not for his father, not for the princess, and not for himself either. Because he had done everything in his power, and had still failed. His gaze briefly turned to those that were mourning the princess, none of which had payed any attention to him or his father as of yet.   
  
He would have been angry, and perhaps somewhere in the back of his mind, a little bit guilty for what he'd done. But he couldn't be, not now. He was exhausted, and defeated. He looked back to his father's body, lying motionless, a reminder that he had failed.   
  
"I'm so sorry, dad... I disappointed you, again."   
  
And with that, Varian finally gave in to his exhaustion. He collapsed fully to the floor, his world fading to black. And he would stay that way, forever.   
  
. . .    
  
And noone won the battle that day.


End file.
